Flush valve



Feb. 4, 1941 G. F. DEADY FLUSH VALVE Filed Oct. 25,

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 STATES PATENT 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a valve assembly and more particularly to a valve assembly adapted to be used in flush tanks and the like.

The tank ball used in closing the outlet from a flush tank has been quite generally standardized, in that it consists of a hollow ball suspended from a rod actuated by a releasing lever. Gravity, together with the water suction, is relied upon to draw the ball into proper position upon the valve seat. oftentimes, the valve assembly becomes jammed, in which event the water continues to drain indefinitely, or until the ball eventually is properly seated upon the valve seat. This is annoying and disturbing to the occupants of the building. In addition thereto, it is wasteful, in that it permits the water to drain without any useful purpose after the tank has once been emptied.

An object of this invention is to provide a tank ball assembly wherein the ball is automatically positioned in registry with the valve seat.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tank ball which is guided into position at the proper time and in the proper place.

Another object of this invention is to provide a flexible suspension for the tank ball, which permits the ball to be actuated into proper position upon the valve seat without restraining forces exerted upon the tank ball while advancing into home position.

Another object of this invention is to provide flexible guides for drawing the tank ball into a position where it may be advanced positively into registry with the valve seat.

Another object of this invention is to guide the tank ball intoposition from below the ball, leaving the top of the ball unrestrained.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawing,

Figure l discloses a fragmentary cross sectional view of a fiush tank with the tank ball shown with a part thereof broken away, as disclosed in the full line position as it appears when open and in dot-dash position as it appears when closed.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the tank ball guiding mechanism removed from the tank ball.

This invention utilizes the conventional tank ball for closing the outlet port of a flush tank; but instead of supporting the tank ball upon a rod or a comparatively rigid member, the tank ball is supported upon a flexible member, permitting it to sway to the side without restraint I5, such as copper or the like.

excepting the forces exerted by gravity. The under side of the tank wall, which is generally provided with an opening, supports a rigid guide portion such as an acorn-like guiding member, tapering from the bottom of the ball downwardly to a point where it is connected to a flexible member such as a chain hanging in the outlet pipe or opening of the tank. This downwardly projecting chain is drawn downwardly by the force of the water, thereby guiding the lower end of the acorn-like member into the outlet opening. Consequently, as the bulb descends, the acornlike member guides it into proper registry with the valve seat, thereby eliminating the chances of improper registry and thereby eliminating jamming of the rigid parts. In the conventional type now in use the guide and supporting rod have a tendency to become jammed; preventing the proper seating of the tank ball upon the valve seat.

Referring to the drawing, the reference char-' acter It] indicates a flush tank that may be provided with a cover I2 and a bottom M. This flush tank may be provided with an inner lining The detailed structure of the flush tank is immaterial. It may be made of homogeneous material such as porceclain or the like. The bottom of the tank is provided with an outlet valve seat 20, having a reduced cylindrical portion 22 provided with threads and held in position by a suitable washer or lock nut 24. In order to secure water-tightness, packing gaskets or glands 26 and 28 may be used, as is well known to those skilled in the art. The cylindrical portion 22 is preferably connected to an outlet pipe 30, in any suitable manner known to those skilled in the art, as for example, by a union coupling member 32. The structural details of the outlet flush tank are immaterial.

A trip lever 34 pivotally mounted at 35 and actuated by a suitable trip mechanism not shown is supported near the top of the flush tank It. One end of the trip lever 34 supports a chain 443, connected to the trip lever 34 by a suitable screw 42, or in any other suitable manner. The lower end of the chain Mi supports a bracket 44 attached to the tank ball 50 by a suitable screw 52. The screw 52 is attached to the flush ball in the same manner as the conventional rods now generally used. The tank ball 59 is preferably hollow and provided with an opening in the bottom found in the hemispherical portion 56a, merging into a frustum-conical portion 59b. The shape of the tank ball is immaterial, as any tank ball having the requisite features may be used.

Instead of being provided with a hemispherical portion and a frustum-conical portion, the ball may be spherical in shape.

The tank ball 50 supports an acorn-shaped spider-like structure consisting of a plurality of wires 54, each provided with a hook portion 56, adapted to engage the periphery of the opening in the bottom of the tank ball 50. These wire-like members 54 ar resilient and tend to spread outwardly, thereby firmly gripping or engaging the opening in the tank ball 50. The lower ends of the wires 54 are seated and rigidly secured in a cup-shaped member 60. The lower ends of the wires may be held in position by solder, fusing material or in any other suitable manner, as

for example by a- Wedge driven down through the center formed by the lower ends of the wires. This cup-shaped member 60 terminates in an eye 62, supporting a chain 64 hanging downwardly into the pipe 35 aligned with the outlet opening of the flush tank. The lower end of the chain 64 may support a tab 66 or any other suitable member adapted to be sucked downwardly with the discharging water.

As may be readily seen from the full line position shown in Figure 1, the tank ball is in open position, where the acorn-like structure, including the wires 54 and the cup-shaped member 60, projects downwardly, either into or in the vicinity of the outlet opening in the bottom of the tank. The chain 64 is never completely removed from the outlet opening during normal use of the structure, so that as the water is flowing out of the tank, the tank ball 50 may float on the surface of the water remaining in the tank. However, it cannot float away from the outlet, as the water draining from the tank tends to pull the chain 64 downwardly with the water, thereby at all times aligning the lower end of the acorn-like structure into the outlet opening. As the water lowers in the tank, the acornlike structure will eventually be drawn into the outlet opening, so that as the tank ball drops, it properly registers upon the valve seat. This free floating arrangement of the tank ball which is made possible by the use of the chain 40, which does not exert any restraining force, and the gentle pull caused by the chain 64 and the acorn-like structure, prevents the tank ball from tipping or orienting, in spite of the fact that the conventional guide rod has been eliminated. The structure used permits the ball to be properly aligned and positioned upon the valve seat when the water has drained from the tank, so as to close the outlet port and permit the tank to again be filled by a new supply of water through the use of an automatic float valve arrangement, which has not been shown and does not form a part of this invention.

In the drawing and in the description of the device, wire-like members 54 have been shown and described. However, any other suitable structure could be used accomplishing the same purpose within the purview of the appended claims, as construed in the light of the prior art. Instead of wire-like members being hooked into position, the guiding structure could be otherwise secured in position or united to the ball, as for example, by being embedded in the molding material forming the ball, or the guiding structure could be integral with the tank ball.

Although the preferred modification of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims:

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a hollow tank ball having an opening in the bottom thereof, flexible means for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, means for guiding the ball into registry with the valve seat as the ball is lowered, said means including a plurality of wirelike members diverging from a common point and terminating in hook-shaped portions projecting into the opening in the bottom of the ball and hooked into engagement with the periphery of the ball surrounding said opening, and flexible means suspended from the common point of said wire-like members, said flexible means being normally positioned in the outlet opening of the tank for guiding the common point of said wire-like members into the opening to thereby cause the tank ball to be lowered into proper registry with the valve seat.

2. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a hollow tank ball having an opening in the bottom thereof, flexible means for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, said flexible means allowing free swinging movement of the ball, and means for guiding the ball into registry with the valve seat as the ball is lowered, said means including a plurality of wire-like members diverging from a common point and terminating in hook-shaped portions projecting into the opening in the bottom of the ball and hooked into engagement with the periphery of the ball surrounding said opening, said means projecting into the outlet opening when the tank ball approaches the valve seat so as to align the tank ball in registry with the valve seat.

3. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a tank ball, flexible means having free swinging movement for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, and means for guiding the ball into registry with the valve seat, said means including a rigid spider-like structure suspended from the bottom of the ball and adapted to project into the outlet opening as the ball is lowered upon the valve seat, the spider-like structure causing the tank ball to register properly with the valve seat.

4. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet open ing in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a hollow ball having an opening in the bottom, means for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, and means interconnected in the bottom of the ball for guiding the ball into the outlet opening of the tank, said interconnecting means including a plurality of hooked wire-like supporting members forming an acorn-shaped guide projecting into the outlet opening so as to guide the ball upon its seat.

5. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a tank ball having an opening in the bottom thereof, flexible means for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, and means for guiding the ball into registry with the valve seat, said means including an acorn-shaped spider-like structure projecting upinto the opening of the tank ball and supported thereby, and flexible means suspended from the point of the acorn-shaped spiderlike structure and projecting into the outlet opening for aligning the ball as it is lowered into registry with the valve seat.

6. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a tank ball, means for guiding the tank ball into registry with the valve seat, and a chain for interconnecting the tank ball to the trip mechanism.

7. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet open ing in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a tank ball floating on the water when withdrawn from the valve seat, flexible means having free swinging movement for interconnecting the tank ball to said tripmechanism, and means responding to the suction of the water draining from the tank through the outlet opening in the bottom thereof for drawing the ball into registry with the valve seat.

8. A tank ball assembly adapted to be removed from the valve seat surrounding the outlet opening in the bottom of a water tank by a trip mechanism, said tank ball assembly including a tank ball, flexible means having free swinging movement for suspending the ball from the trip mechanism, and means for guiding the ball into registry with the valve seat, said means including a rigid spider-like structure fixedly attached to the bottom of the ball and adapted to project into the outlet opening as the ball is lowered upon the valve seat, the spider-like structure causing the tank ball to register properly with the valve seat.

GEORGE F. DEADY. 

